After All
by Ali-san
Summary: Himawari thought it'd be great if she, Watanuki, and Doumeki all go to a school dance.


**Warnings: **Hinted shounen-ai (Watanuki and Doumeki). Maybe a couple swears. Most likely out of character for everyone.

**Disclaimer: **They're CLAMP's, not mine. I simply enjoy their existence.

**After All**

Himawari swirls around the dance floor with her current partner, completely oblivious to the doleful gaze of Watanuki standing in a lonely, dark corner of the gym. She had invited him and Doumeki to come, intent on having her good friends there with her at their school's dance and that they would all have a good time. The only good Watanuki could see was that Himawari was not dancing with Doumeki.

He scowls up at the stoic young man next to him. "You don't have to hover here, you know. There are plenty of girls you can dance with."

"Who said I want to dance?" Doumeki observes coolly.

"Well why are you at a dance then?" Watanuki shouts irritably.

"I could ask the same to you," the other responds.

Watanuki glares even harder at the amber-eyed boy. "You've also turned down every single girl who's asked you to dance!"

Doumeki shrugs nonchalantly. "I don't want to dance with them."

"Why?" Watanuki is completely incredulous. "What's wrong with them?"

"There's nothing wrong with them."

"Then why don't you dance with them?"

"Because I don't want to."

"You make absolutely no sense!" Watanuki shouts, throwing his hands in the air.

"Well, why don't you dance?" Doumeki glances down at the shorter boy.

Watanuki stiffens slightly. He really has no answer. He blinks in disconcertion, wracking his brain to come up with at least some kind of answer.

"It's okay not to dance if you don't want to," Doumeki continues after a moment. He shrugs. "I'd dance if the right person wanted to."

Watanuki rolls his eyes. "What the hell kind of a lame romantic statement is that?"

"It was more like a hint," Doumeki says.

"What are you going on about now?" Watanuki glares at him. "You really don't make any sense."

The taller young man shrugs his indifference. "I might make sense if you were a little more observant."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means whatever you want it to mean."

Himawari skips over to them then, her curly hair pinned up in pink barrettes with soft lavender ribbons trailing from them, her slim cream-colored dress swirling around her ankles. She smiles happily at them.

"Why aren't you two dancing?"

Watanuki smiles a tad heartbrokenly at her. "I don't really feel like it."

Himawari's eyes turn to Doumeki who shrugs.

"Don't bother with that guy, Himawari-chan," Watanuki scowls. "The 'right person' doesn't seem to want to dance." He does not notice the other boy's quiet gaze on him.

The young girl smiles sweetly at Doumeki. "It is a shame that Watanuki-kun doesn't want to dance, isn't it?"

Blinking at her in confusion, Watanuki is speechless as she pats him on the shoulder, gives Doumeki an encouraging smile, and heads back to the dance floor. He looks over at Doumeki. "What did that mean?"

Doumeki shakes his head, exasperated. "You really are dense."

With an annoyed noise, Watanuki turns back to the dance floor. "Like you're one to talk."

A smirk plays at Doumeki's lips. "At least Kunogi understands me. It's more than anyone can say for you."

"What's with that?" Watanuki whirls back around only to stop short as he sees the smirk has dissipated to a rather open and soft expression. Inexplicably, he feels himself lose all his angry frustration and blush somewhat. "Wh-what?"

Doumeki shakes his head and pushes away from the wall against which he has been leaning. He takes a step closer to the shorter boy, containing the pleased smile as Watanuki blushes a little more. "If you feel like it, we could just go pretend we're dancing."

"I…I…" Watanuki stutters as he tries to process this odd statement, mind pondering any and all possible interpretations of it. He remembers himself though; he and Doumeki are rivals. His temper flares. "What makes you think I'd want to be anywhere around you?"

This does not stop him, however, from following as Doumeki shrugs and leads them out among the other dancing bodies, and beginning a slow sway to the upbeat music. He chooses not to notice as Doumeki closes the gap between them to move within a few inches behind him, mirroring Watanuki's movements. Watanuki feels that accursed blush return to his cheeks. He is only allowing this because the dance floor is so crowded. After all, he can tell Doumeki to shove off anytime. Really.


End file.
